It is all about the latest equipment and techniques, new adventures and places to travel, learning from the best or the mistakes they have made along the way, and great outdoor stories.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Across the Sahara - Peter Sheldon

Rating ****

This article chronicles the story of Ray Zahab, a Canadian ultramarathoner, and 2 of his friends who ran across the Sahara Desert, one of the harshest, places on the planet with some of the most difficult terrain to cross. After running across the punishing, blazing heat of the desert, Zahab said that he finally felt complete and that he'd accomplished what he'd sought out to do and how incredible a feeling it was. It took 111 days to complete their 7000 km trek, Zahab and his friends covered 63 km a day on average which is more than running a marathon every day. They'd wake up very early and run all day through 40+ degree weather, stopping periodically for meals and water. To say they overcame challenges would be a gross understatement; even with a terrible case of tendinitis at one point, Zahab still ran every day, he'd just plug in his iPod or chat with his friends and run for hours on end. The purpose of the journey, however, was not only for the glory of being able to say he'd run across the Sahara, but to bring awareness to the lack of clean drinking water in many African countries. Zahab's incredible determination is just awesome, he said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, but that he's never been happier. He went through 15 pairs of shoes in those 111 days, ate 5500 calories a day, crossed 6 countries and took only 2 showers. After crossing the Sahara on foot, he plans to take it easy; by running across Newfoundland.